I see that this is being advertised on the Genii forum. Mark Sicher introduced me to Mr. Stone in the late 80s at Ruebens in NYC and he absolutely blew me away with several effects. Is this the same book that Richard Kaufman announced years ago? Will this be reviewed in Genii? Can a table of contents be posted?

This is the book RK wrote about some time ago. Stephen Hobbs took over shortly after Mr. Alexander's sudden, untimely passing. I'm really looking forward to this, as I regularly study Dr. Stone's effects, methods and techniques.

I'm curious whether this book will be released for sale by dealers. In any event, I'm delighted it's finally here - and published in Dr. Stone's lifetime.

Bill has the facts, but in the wrong order. I hired Stephen Hobbs to write the book, which he did, quite a few years ago.

Then, a few years after that, I took about 400 photos of Sol Stone's hands.

Then, I bought Genii.

David Alexander purchased the completed manuscript plus all the photos from me, with the plan that his wife--a very talented artist--would do the illustrations. And they're beautiful!

I have seen the completed layout and David Britland will be reviewing it in Genii's June issue.

Sol Stone is the unsung hero of coin magic--without him there would have been no David Roth, and without Roth, there would never have been the resurgence in coin magic that we saw in the 70s, 80s, and which continues today.

He has a great style. He was the person who told several of us something that has stuck with me for 35yrs.

He said you need to know when to slow the magic down.

Slow magic can be impossible magic.

He then did Spellbound where showing the coin was a slow pace then the change happened as if his fingers just touched it....it was beautiful to watch in person. A real magical moment he repeated again and again. He never said his hands were empty but used a subtle moment to burn it into your brain it was empty.

Hearing a favorite song often calls forth other related memories. A tune may remind you of a high school dance, a particular friend, or a vacation spot.

Reading a magic book can do that to you too. I recently had the good fortune to read an advance copy of The Essential Sol Stone, and found myself whisked away to my teenage years in the mid-1980s. It was an emotional experience. My best friend at the time was the late Mark Sicher, a young and exceptionally talented New York magician. Together we visited Reubens delicatessen on Madison and 38th Street, the designated meeting spot for magicians every Saturday afternoon.

The undisputed center of attention each week was Harry Lorayne. Harry was there to both give and to take at the time he was soliciting the local guys for material to publish in Apocalypse, but in turn giving full performances of his inimitable card magic. He was amazing, and I learned a lot from watching him riff and interact with the crowd. Seeing Harry bring his published routines to life was like a magic classroom for me.

Off to another side of Reubens there was a quieter corner, occupied by a subtle man who also served as a mentor to me. That man was Sol Stone.

Mark Sicher had taught me some of Sols coin magic, but it looked even better in the creators hands. Sols coin vanishes, glass penetration, his linking links, and his backclip vanishes were moves that looked thoroughly magical. His touch with coins was soft and light and his delivery and engagement was warm and inviting.

Im happy to say that all of the material I learned from Sol Stone over the many years visiting Reubens is included in The Essential Sol Stone. Im even happier that Sol is alive to see his work collected in this magnum opus. Sleight of hand magicians who missed out on private sessions with him can learn from his lifetime of creativity and experience. Its all in the book. The only thing missing is the calm, gentle voice and the soft pat on your arm that Sol used to invite you in closer, to witness his very magical routines.

Cassidy Alexander has asked me to announce here that after a delay with the printer, The Essential Sol Stone books have finally arrived and are being shipped. Books are on hand and new orders are happily received.

Can she send out an e-mail to those of us that ordered it telling us when it ships? I was not expecting to have them ship to me until next week but it would be nice to know when to look for it.
Thanks,
Mike

Mine arrived in Ireland today so everyone should have their book within a few days.
On first viewing is is a beautiful volume and mere words do not, can not, describe the artistry of Cassidy Alexander's illustrations.
I look forward to browsing, reading, re-reading and studying this book.
To all involved in it's production from creating the ideas, putting them into word, illustrating, editing and contributing in any way I say "Well done, stand up and take a bow"

Saw two things at the same time - this thread and my copy of the Sol Stone Book. (Steve Cohen: Thanks for thosa nice words.)I had received a few calls as to the fact that so many of the items in the book were originally written/published by me - and did I give my permission?, etc. Well, it's a bit confusing in my mind. If you check the Appendix of the book, page 251, you'll see that credit is given for the items I selected, wrote up and originally published in APOCALYPSE and in BEST OF FRIENDS.
It does mention in that area that many of the items (16 of them) were in a set of Sol's 1993 Lecture Notes. I do remember giving permission for that. I honestly don't recall being specifically asked for permission for the items in the current book. But, no matter - I know Sol for decades, his stuff is great and of course I would have given permission, if I was asked. So, for those who called, who care, and etc., there is no problem. I was asked for a quote - I said, "If it is from Sol Stone's mind it will be great for your hands." And that's for sure.
Thirty-Eight items are listed as originally written by me (I think there are a couple more); items that I originally selected to write up, made up the titles for most, if not all, of them (I remember how pleased I was with "Cointemplate"), and so on - so, it's gotta be good, right!!!??? Enjoy! Harry Lorayne.

Just as a PS. It has been suggested before, but this made me think about it anew. Right now, I'm trying to complete Lorayne: The Classic Collection, Vol. 4 - the last in the series. It's a tough one to do, the material, and the fact that I'm older - I'm re-writing and updating my own The Magic Book, Star Quality (The magic of David Regal) and The Card Classics of Ken Krenzel.

I'm mentioning this because the "suggestion" I mention above is that I do a book updating all my items in the 20 years of APOCALYPSE, plus my Out To Lunch columns and some of the Lorayne Storms. (And maybe my own items out of my three BEST OF FRIENDS volumes.) And also because of the success of an-almost like that in the Sol Stone book. Anyway, it's something I might think about - remember the "I'm older" phrase above!

It's an enjoyable read, and a very handsome book (some of the best line illustrations I've ever seen). Mr. Stone's style is certainly unique amongst the current fascination with flash and pop, and the book reflects that well. He sounds like an interesting guy that I'd enjoy meeting.

erdnasephile wrote:It's an enjoyable read, and a very handsome book (some of the best line illustrations I've ever seen). Mr. Stone's style is certainly unique amongst the current fascination with flash and pop, and the book reflects that well. He sounds like an interesting guy that I'd enjoy meeting.

Exactly what struck me. a friend once remarked that many of the current crop seem to look like extras in Madonnna's Vogue video when they are working, with all the contrived hand motions and displays...

Stone's Fusion/Fisson routine in which he fuses two quarters into a half dollar, then breaks the half back into quarters just looks like magic. Nothing but...

Ms. Alexander is a portrait artist of no small skill, and combining her artistic eye with Richard's well practiced abilty to photograph what needs to be seen is the perfect combination. And the illustration of Stone doing the Miser's Dream is good enough to BE a portrait.

I understand that Cassidy Alexander has decided to produce a very limited Collector's Edition of The Essential Sol Stone. I expect these will go very quickly. The response to the regular edition has been terrific.

The illustrations are extraordinary. On just a cursory look, it's obviously an enduring book that commands a lot of attention. And Stone as the necessary antecedent to Roth is an interesting take I hadn't previously seen/heard.

Not only the illustrations are extraordinary, the book has been extraordinary well written.The descriptions are as clear as wather, simple and direct. The book is very well structured, we have some info about the life of Sol and and explanation of basic manipulations at the beginning. And the most important thing, the content of the book is extraordinary, very direct and structured magic. In most of the effects you cannot change handling because there is no other way to do it but as Sol way. That is because his magic is clever and direct. There are truly gems in the book.

And the edition is very good, you can lay flat the book on the table and read while follow the instructions.